any one person for giving the same: That hechas, indeed, declared that his motive for lending to the *Company, or depositing in their treasury, in his own name, money, which he has, in other places, declared to be their property, was to avoid ostentation; and that lending the money was the least hable to reflection; yet, when he has stated these and other conjectural motives for his own conduct, he declares he will not affirm, though he is firmly persuaded, that those were his sentiments on the occasion. That of one thing only the said Warren Hastings declares he is centain; viz. "That it was 16 his design originally to have concealed the res ceipt of all, sums, except the second, even from the knowledge of the Court of Directors;; but that when fortune threw at sum in his way of a magnitude, which could not be concealed,, and the Speculian delicacy of his situation at the time, in “which he had received it, made him more circumspect of appearances, he chose to apprize

his employers of it." That the said Warren Hastings informs the Directors that he had endorsed the bonds taken by him for money belonging to the Company, and lent by him to the Company, in order to guard against their becoming a claim on the Company, as part of his estate in the event of his death; but he has not affirmed, nor does it any where appear, that he has surrendered the said bonds, as he ought to have done. That the

M 3

the said Warren Hastings, in affirming that he had not time to answer the questions put to him by the Directors, while he was in Bengal-in not bringing with him to England the documents necessary to enable him to answer those questions, or in pretending that he has not brought them-in referring the Directors back again to Bengal for those documents, and for any further information on a subject, on which he has given them no information, and particularly in referring them back to a person in Bengal for a paper, which he says contained the only account, he ever kept of the transaction, while he himself professes to doubt whether that paper be still in being, whether it be in the hands of that person, or whether that person can recollect any thing distinctly concerning ithas been guilty of gross evasions, and of palpable prevarication and deceit, as well as of contumacy and disobedience to the lawful orders of the Court of Directors; and thereby confirmed all the former evidence of his having constantly used the influence of his station for the most scandalous, illegal, and corrupt purposes.

IX. RESIGNATION OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOUR-GENERAL.

- THAT Warren Hastings having, by his agent Lauchlin Macleane, Esquire, on the 10th day of October, in the year 1776, "signified to the Court "of Directors his desire to resign his office of "Governour-General of Bengal, and requested "their nomination of a successor to the vacancy, "which would be thereby cccasioned in the

Supreme Council," the Court of Directors did thereupon desire the said Lauchlin Macleane "to"inform them of the authority, under which he "acted in a point of such very great importance;" and the said Lauchlin Macleane "signifying therehis readiness to give the Court every pos"sible satisfaction on that subject, but the powers, "with which he was intrusted by the papers in "his custody, being mixed with other matters of

upon

a nature extremely confidential, he would submit "the same to the inspection of any three of the "members of the Court," the said Court of Directors empowered the chairman, deputy chairman, and Richard Becher, Esquire, to inspect the authorities, powers, and directions, with which Mr. Macleane was furnished by Mr. Hastings, to make

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the propositions contained in his letter of the 10th October 1776, and to report their opinion thereon. And the said Committee did accordingly, on the 23d of the said month, report, "that, having con"ferred with Mr. Macleane on the subject of his "letter presented to the Court the 11th instant, they found that, from the purport of Mr. Hastings's instructions, contained in a paper in his own hand-writing given to Mr. Macleane, and produced by him to them, Mr. Hastings declared' "He would not continue in the government of "Bengal, unless certain conditions, therein speci "fied, could be obtained, of which they saw no "probability; and Mr. George Vansittart had "declared to them, that he was present when "these instructions were given to Mr. Macleane, "and when Mr. Hastings empowered Mr. Mac"leane to declare his resignation to the said "Court; that Mr. Stewart had likewise confirmed "to them, that Mr. Hastings declared to him, that " he had given directions to the above purpose by "Mr. Macleane." edt me forcoÛ m And the Court of Directors, having received from the said report due satisfaction respecting the authority vested in the said Lauchlin Macleane to propose the said resignation of the office of Gover nour-General of Bengal, did unanimously resolve to accept the same; and did also, under powers vested in the said Court by the Act of the 13th,

year

year of His present Majesty,

"nominate and

ap

point Edward Wheler, Esquire, to succeed to the office in the Council of Fort-William in "Bengal, which will become vacant by the said "resignation, if such nomination shall be approved "by His Majesty:" which nomination and appointment was afterwards, in due form, approved and confirmed by His Majesty.

That the Court of Directors did, by a postscript to their general letter, dated 25th October 17765 acquaint the Governour-General and Council att Calcutta of their acceptance of the said resig nation, of their appointment of Edward Whelen,. Esquire, to fill the said vacancy, and of His Ma-, jesty's approbation of the said appointment, together with the grounds of their said proceedings: and did transmit to the said Governour-General and Council copies of the said instruments of appointment and confirmation.

1

That the said dispatches from the Court of Di rectors were received at Calcutta, and were read: in Council on the 19th day of June, in the year 1777; and that Warren Hastings, Esquire, having taken no steps to yield the government to his successour, General Clavering, and having observed a profound silence on the subject of the said dispatches, he, the said General Clavering, did, on the next day, being the 20th of June; by a letter addressed to the said Warren Hastings, require